陆生植物的起源和维管植物的早期演化

陆生植物的起源和演化是地球生命中的重大事件,它影响到地球上所有的其他生命和全球环境。在过去的20年中,从中奥陶世历经整个志留纪至早泥盆世的岩层中,化石植物(微化石和大化石)的新发现改变了人们对陆生植物起源的认识,并且为陆生植物和维管植物早期演化分异提供了基部类群分化的时间框架。据此人们识别出地史中的3个陆生植物的时代：始胚植物时代、始维管植物时代和真维管植物时代。另一方面,分子系统的研究使人们深入认识了植物的系统发育和早期分支。通过比较形态学研究和基因序列的共同努力,建立了植物系统发育树。总结了最近的进展和新的认识,评价了基于分支分析的系统发育研究。     

HPLC指纹图谱结合反向传播人工神经网络和判别分析鉴定不同的麻黄药材

采用HPLC-UV测定36个麻黄药材的指纹图谱,应用化学计量学进行图谱预处理和数据预处理,建立并验证不同种类、不同产地和不同采摘时间的麻黄药材的反向传播人工神经网络(back-propagation artificial neural network,BP-ANN)和判别分析(discriminant analysis,DA)判别模型.研究结果显示,所建BP-ANN模型的预测准确率为83.3％～94.4％、DA模型的性能指标为82.8％～88.5％,可见所建方法能有效判别不同种类、不同产地和不同采摘时间的麻黄药材.该方法基于麻黄药材物质基础的整体性质,判断客观,为其他药材的分析提供了参考.     

广州地区前华夏植物群研究

广州地区晚泥盆世至早石炭世植物群计 2 3属 4 1种,以真蕨纲和种子蕨纲为主,石松纲居次,另外还有少量楔叶纲、科达纲及种子化石.按地层分布当前植物群可分为沙水岗组植物组合、龙江组植物组合及测水组植物组合.分析该植物群的组成特征,其性质属前华夏植物群     

Occurrence of Sciadopitys-like fossil wood （Coniferales） in the Jurassic of western Liaoning and its evolutionary implications

The genus Sciadopitys, containing a single species (S. verticillata), is the only extant representative of the Family Sciadopityaceae (Coniferales), and is a remarkable living fossil. Although some leafy fossils have been ascribed to Sciadopityaceae, fossil xylem material with a close affinity to this family is very rare, and there have been no fossils found showing both pith and primary xylem structures, which are of great importance for wood identification. Thus, it has been difficult to use fossils for the understanding of wood anatomy evolution in the sciadopityaceous plants over geological time. In this note we briefly report on Sciadopitys-like fossil wood found in the Middle Jurassic of western Liaoning, which bears well-preserved Protosciadopityoxylon-type secondary xylem, endarch primary xylem and heterogeneous pith. This is the first report of fossil specimens of the Sciadopityaceae with such detailed preservation of wood structures. The discovery provides precise anatomical evidence for reconstructing the evolu- tionary history and geographical distribution of Sciadopityaceae, as well as contributing to understanding of the fossil diversity of the Jurassic Yanliao Flora in northern China.     

A stem batrachian from the Early Permian of Texas and the origin of frogs and salamanders

The origin of extant amphibians (Lissamphibia: frogs, salamanders and caecilians) is one of the most controversial questions in vertebrate evolution, owing to large morphological and temporal gaps in the fossil record. Current discussions focus on three competing hypotheses: a monophyletic origin within either Temnospondyli or Lepospondyli, or a polyphyletic origin with frogs and salamanders arising among temnospondyls and caecilians among the lepospondyls. Recent molecular analyses are also controversial, with estimations for the batrachian (frog-salamander) divergence significantly older than the palaeontological evidence supports. Here we report the discovery of an amphibamid temnospondyl from the Early Permian of Texas that bridges the gap between other Palaeozoic amphibians and the earliest known salientians and caudatans from the Mesozoic. The presence of a mosaic of salientian and caudatan characters in this small fossil makes it a key taxon close to the batrachian (frog and salamander) divergence. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the batrachian divergence occurred in the Middle Permian, rather than the late Carboniferous as recently estimated using molecular clocks, but the divergence with caecilians corresponds to the deep split between temnospondyls and lepospondyls, which is congruent with the molecular estimates.     

Adaptive evolution and structure modeling of rbcL gene in Ephedra

The adaptive evolution of the rbcL gene in 14 species of Ephedra and 9 other gymnosperms was tested by the PAML program. Three large-scale selections were found in the catalytic region of the RbcL protein by branch model. Species in Ephedra with positive selection at the 365th codon site in rbcL gene were detected by branch-site model. 3D structure modeling showed that the 365th codon could change the spatial structure of the β-sheet (βG, βH, or βE) of the RbcL protein. These changes may be associated with ...     

碳捕获与封存技术专利分析

碳捕获与封存（CCS）是在不需要降低化石燃料使用量的情况下,减少温室气体排入大气的一种手段。为了达到这种效果,必须使用技术从排放气体中分离和捕获二氧化碳,并把二氧化碳转化为甲醇等资源或者把二氧化碳封存到地质沉积物中。随着温室气体排放与气候变暖问题的加剧,国际上对CCS技术的关注日益加强,这也反映在专利申请的发展趋势上。利用Thomson Data Analyzer分析工具和Aureka分析平台对Derwent Innovations Index（DII）专利文献进行分析,表明CCS专利主要涉及化学、工程、仪器、能源与燃料、高分子科学等学科领域。CCS技术经历了起步阶段、波动增长阶段和快速增长阶段。DII收录的CCS专利主要来自日本、美国、德国、中国、法国等。各国研究的重点有所不同,德国用催化剂从废气等中脱除氮氧化物的比例比其他国家高,法国通过液化或固化分离气体的比例较高,荷兰一般化合碳方面所占比例高。最近3Af-加拿大、中国、韩国申请专利的数量增长速度最快,表明这些国家近期在该技术领域创新比较活跃。对CCS技术的关注在今后一段时间内将持续上升,我国需继续支持该领域的研发创新工作。     

Fossil evidence of water lilies (Nymphaeales) in the Early Cretaceous

Phylogenetic analyses have identified the water lilies (Nymphaeales: Cabombaceae and Nymphaeaceae), together with four other small groups of flowering plants (the 'ANITA clades': Amborellaceae, Illiciales, Trimeniaceae, Austrobaileyaceae), as the first diverging lineages from the main branch of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree, but evidence of these groups in the earliest phases of the angiosperm fossil record has remained elusive. Here we report the earliest unequivocal evidence, based on fossil floral structures and associated pollen, of fossil plants related to members of the ANITA clades. This extends the history of the water lilies (Nymphaeales) back to the Early Cretaceous (125-115 million years) and into the oldest fossil assemblages that contain unequivocal angiosperm stamens and carpels. This discovery adds to the growing congruence between results from molecular-based analyses of relationships among angiosperms and the palaeobotanical record. It is also consistent with previous observations that the flowers of early angiosperms were generally very small compared with those of their living relatives.     

内蒙古东部霍林河煤田晚侏罗世—早白垩世植物及含煤地层初步研究

本文报道了我国内蒙古东部霍林河煤田植物化石及其生物地层的初步研究,概要的介绍了目前确定的34属62种大植物化石及部分孢粉。淡水瓣鳃类等化石.根据植物群的组成特征及同相关植物化石群的对比,认为霍林河植物群及其产出地层的时代为晚侏罗世—早白垩世.通过植物群组合性质研究,提出晚侏罗世—早白垩世时期霍林河地层可能曾地处北半球或暖温带.     

A Cretaceous terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a sacrum

It has commonly been thought that snakes underwent progressive loss of their limbs by gradual diminution of their use. However, recent developmental and palaeontological discoveries suggest a more complex scenario of limb reduction, still poorly documented in the fossil record. Here we report a fossil snake with a sacrum supporting a pelvic girdle and robust, functional legs outside the ribcage. The new fossil, from the Upper Cretaceous period of Patagonia, fills an important gap in the evolutionary progression towards limblessness because other known fossil snakes with developed hindlimbs, the marine Haasiophis, Pachyrhachis and Eupodophis, lack a sacral region. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the new fossil is the most primitive (basal) snake known and that all other limbed fossil snakes are closer to the more advanced macrostomatan snakes, a group including boas, pythons and colubroids. The new fossil retains several features associated with a subterranean or surface dwelling life that are also present in primitive extant snake lineages, supporting the hypothesis of a terrestrial rather than marine origin of snakes.     

The discovery of Jurassic plants in Shenzhen of Guangdong,southern China and related significance

Investigations of major marine and non-marine geologic and biotic events across the Triassic-Jurassic transition rely predominantly on detailed stratigraphic frameworks and biodiversity analyses. The alternating sequences of marine and terrestrial Triassic-Jurassic for- mations in Guangdong Province represent one of the most remarkable coal-bearing series in southern China. The Lower Jurassic Jinji Formation is widely distributed in Guangdong, with continuously outcropped sections and rich marine and non-marine fossil fauna. However, as little research has been conducted on fossil plant remains in the Jinji Formation, it is difficult to understand the systematics, diversity, and floral aspects of the Jurassic. Here we report on the recent collection of rich fossil plants from the Jinji Formation in the Dapeng area of Shenzhen, southern Guangdong Province. Our studies demonstrate taxonomical affiliations, preservation status, and diversity features of these plant fossils, which are marked by the close associ- ation of densely preserved, pinnae and rachis connected leaves, and the bennettitalean reproductive organs of Wil- liamsoniella, which may represent an Early Jurassic plant community dominated by Otozamites of the bennettitales. This work not only represents the first discovery of fossil plants in the Shenzhen area, but is also the first docu- mentation of Jurassic plants in Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta regions. Research related to these plant fossils will be helpful in the correlation of the Early Mesozoiccoal-bearing strata in Guangdong, and will provide a dee- per understanding of variations in plant diversity of the Triassic and Jurassic transition in southern China. Addi- tionally, it will provide terrestrial plant evidence for explorations in Jurassic palaeoecology, palaeoclimatology, and palaeogeography of southern China.     

长江三角洲地区晚更新世晚期的孢粉特征及古环境

通过对长江三角洲地区晚第四纪沉积10多口钻井的孢粉、藻类资料分析研究，在以往较少见到化石的晚更新世晚期的硬粘土沉积中找到了能明确指示古环境的孢粉、藻类化石，发现了两种不同的孢粉组合，一种是以环纹藻Concentricystes占优势的孢粉组合，另一种是以陆生植物Pinus-Cupressaceae-Picea-Abies-Quercus（deciduous）-Grarnineae占优势的孢粉组合，证实了该层硬粘土形成期间曾经历滞水和水退的环境交替．也为探讨硬粘土成因、沉积环境提供了可靠的生物化石依据．     

After a dozen years of progress the origin of angiosperms is still a great mystery

Here we discuss recent advances surrounding the origin of angiosperms. Putatively primitive characters are now much better understood because of a vastly improved understanding of angiosperm phylogenetics, and recent discoveries of fossil flowers have provided an increasingly detailed picture of early diversity in the angiosperms. The 'anthophyte theory', the dominant concept of the 1980s and 1990s, has been eclipsed; Gnetales, previously thought to be closest to the angiosperms, are related instead to other extant gymnosperms, probably most closely to conifers. Finally, new theories of flower origins have been proposed based on gene function, duplication and loss, as well as on morphology. Further studies of genetic mechanisms that control reproductive development in seed plants provide a most promising avenue for further research, including tests of these recent theories. Identification of fossils with morphologies that convincingly place them close to angiosperms could still revolutionize understanding of angiosperm origins.     

The origin of the vertebrate jaw:Intersection between developmental biology-based model and fossil evidence

The origin of the vertebrate jaw has been reviewed based on the molecular,developmental and paleontological evidences.Advances in developmental genetics have accumulated to propose the heterotopy theory of jaw evolution,i.e.the jaw evolved as a novelty through a heterotopic shift of mesenchyme-epithelial interaction.According to this theory,the disassociation of the nasohypophyseal complex is a fundamental prerequisite for the origin of the jaw,since the median position of the nasohypophyseal placode in cyclostome head development precludes the forward growth of the neural-crest-derived craniofacial ectomesenchyme.The potential impacts of this disassociation on the origin of the diplorhiny are also discussed from the molecular perspectives.Thus far,our study on the cranial anatomy of galeaspids,a 435-370-million-year-old ’ostracoderm’ group from China and northern Vietnam,has provided the earliest fossil evidence for the disassociation of nasohypophyseal complex in vertebrate phylogeny.Using Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Tomography,we further show some derivative structures of the trabeculae(e.g.orbitonasal lamina,ethmoid plate) in jawless galeaspids,which provide new insights into the reorganization of the vertebrate head before the evolutionary origin of the jaw.These anatomical observations based on new techniques highlight the possibility that galeaspids are,in many respects,a better proxy than osteostracans for reconstructing the pre-gnathostome condition of the rostral part of the braincase.The cranial anatomy of galeaspids reveals a number of derived characters uniquely shared with gnathostomes.This raises the potential possibility that galeaspids might be the closest jawless relatives of jawed vertebrates.Our study provides an intriguing example of intersection between developmental biology-based model and fossil evidence.     

麻黄“上沫”成分的热分析TG-DTG-DSC及热解GC-MS研究

 以热重-微分热重法（TG-DTG）和差示扫描量热法（DSC）对麻黄“上沫”进行热分析研究,并进一步通过热解 GC-MS技术解析麻黄“上沫”的化学组分。结果表明,麻黄“上沫”质量丢失的主要温度范围在250~560 ℃, 以305 ℃和506.3 ℃时的质量丢失速率最大,在364.8 ℃和508.2 ℃各有一个明显的放热峰。麻黄“上沫”为有机化合物,在450 ℃条件下,热解 GC-MS检测,初步鉴定出28种化学物质。首次为麻黄入药需先煎去“上沫”的制法提供了实验数据支持。     

山东淄博煤田晚石炭世——早二叠世植物群落特征

山东淄博煤田晚石炭世—早二叠世植物化石经鉴定,共计37属104种,其中包括11个新种。分析了本区植物化石的埋藏类型,根据各类植物的生活习性和生境,将晚石炭世—早二叠世植物群划分为五个植物群落,讨论了它们的多度、成分、结构和生活型等特征,并采用信息函数数理统计方法,应用电子计算机对各植物群落的分异度和均衡度进行了计算。     

The origin of the internal nostril of tetrapods

The choana, a unique 'internal nostril' opening from the nasal sac into the roof of the mouth, is a key part of the tetrapod (land vertebrate) respiratory system. It was the first component of the tetrapod body plan to evolve, well before the origin of limbs, and is therefore crucial to our understanding of the beginning of the fish-tetrapod transition. However, there is no consensus on the origin of the choana despite decades of heated debate; some have claimed that it represents a palatally displaced external nostril, but others have argued that this is implausible because it implies breaking and rejoining the maxillary-premaxillary dental arcade and the maxillary branch of nerve V. The fossil record has not resolved the dispute, because the choana is fully developed in known tetrapod stem-group members. Here we present new material of Kenichthys, a 395-million-year-old fossil fish from China, that provides direct evidence for the origin of the choana and establishes its homology: it is indeed a displaced posterior external nostril that, during a brief transitional stage illustrated by Kenichthys, separated the maxilla from the premaxilla.     

Gene transfer to the nucleus and the evolution of chloroplasts

Photosynthetic eukaryotes, particularly unicellular forms, possess a fossil record that is either wrought with gaps or difficult to interpret, or both. Attempts to reconstruct their evolution have focused on plastid phylogeny, but were limited by the amount and type of phylogenetic information contained within single genes. Among the 210 different protein-coding genes contained in the completely sequenced chloroplast genomes from a glaucocystophyte, a rhodophyte, a diatom, a euglenophyte and five land plants, we have now identified the set of 45 common to each and to a cyanobacterial outgroup genome. Phylogenetic inference with an alignment of 11,039 amino-acid positions per genome indicates that this information is sufficient--but just rarely so--to identify the rooted nine-taxon topology. We mapped the process of gene loss from chloroplast genomes across the inferred tree and found that, surprisingly, independent parallel gene losses in multiple lineages outnumber phylogenetically unique losses by more that 4:1. We identified homologues of 44 different plastid-encoded proteins as functional nuclear genes of chloroplast origin, providing evidence for endosymbiotic gene transfer to the nucleus in plants.     

Affinities of 'hyopsodontids' to elephant shrews and a Holarctic origin of Afrotheria

Macroscelideans (elephant shrews or sengis) are small-bodied (25-540 g), cursorial (running) and saltatorial (jumping), insectivorous and omnivorous placental mammals represented by at least 15 extant African species classified in four genera. Macroscelidea is one of several morphologically diverse but predominantly African placental orders classified in the superorder Afrotheria by molecular phylogeneticists. The distribution of modern afrotheres, in combination with a basal position for Afrotheria within Placentalia and molecular divergence-time estimates, has been used to link placental diversification with the mid-Cretaceous separation of South America and Africa. Morphological phylogenetic analyses do not support Afrotheria and the fossil record favours a northern origin of Placentalia. Here we describe fossil postcrania that provide evidence for a close relationship between North American Palaeocene-Eocene apheliscine 'hyopsodontid' 'condylarths' (early ungulates or hoofed mammals) and extant Macroscelidea. Apheliscine postcranial morphology is consistent with a relationship to other ungulate-like afrotheres (Hyracoidea, Proboscidea) but does not provide support for a monophyletic Afrotheria. As the oldest record of an afrothere clade, identification of macroscelidean relatives in the North American Palaeocene argues against an African origin for Afrotheria, weakening support for linking placental diversification to the break-up of Gondwana.     

The discovery of whole-plant fossil cycad from the Upper Triassic in western Liaoning and its significance

A recently discovered megafossil of whole plant cycad is briefly reported here. The specimen is collected from the Yangcaogou Formation （Upper Triassic） in Changheying, Beipiao, Liaoning. The whole plant is preserved intact on a sandstone slab, 89 cm long and 130 cm wide, including leaves up to 82 cm long and a male cone physically attached to the stem apex. Analysis on the morphology, arrangement and venation of leaf and pinna, male cone and its relationship with other parts indicates that the fossil is closely related to living Zamiaceae in Cycadales. This cycad fossil is hitherto most completely preserved cycad specimen including both vegetative and reproductive organs. Its discovery contributes much to our understanding of the morphology and evolution of cycads, palaeoclimate as well as palaeoenvironment.